Yet with those high-intensity exercises comes a need to exercise a certain amount of caution — so ask a health or fitness expert what your body can handle.

“You have to have a joint structure and cardiovascular system to deal with the stress of a high-intensity exercise,” says Larry Sava, Activity Center director at University Medical Center in Lubbock.

Valigura recommends stretching exercises to warm up, as well as to wind down from exercises.

“Stretching prevents injuries and increases flexibility,” says Valigura. “To stretch your hamstrings, stand with your feet together. Then bend at the hips, going down to touch your toes. Do two or three sets, for 10 to 20 seconds each time.”

There are a few simpler high-calorie-burning exercises that can be done at a gym or at home, according to Valigura and Sava. One of those is air squats.

“You start with your feet about shoulder width apart,” Valigura says. “Then you squat down (bending at the knees), and then you raise up. Do it repetitively, starting out with two to three sets of five to 10 squats. If that’s too hard, you can get by a chair, squat down and sit down on it, then stand straight up.”

Another high-calorie-burning exercise is shadow kick boxing.

“From a standing position, drop into a crouched position and do some punching to the head level, right arm, left arm, right arm, left arm,” Sava says.

Then, to add variation, shuffle forward for two steps, then take two steps back. If you began by leading the with left foot, then switch to leading with the right foot, and then punching lower to the waist level. Do this for two 10-minute intervals, with one to two minutes of rest in between.

“Women might want to add music with a good beat, such as Zumba or mambo,” he says. “Then shuffle your feet from side to side, stepping to the right first and then to the left. Then front to back, back to front, or heel to toe. The main thing is to move to the music. Then add in arms, extending the arms straight out above the head, first with the right, then with the left. Then extend your arms out to each side. Exercise up to 20 minutes, doing two 10-minute segments.”

Older adults or people who are out of shape should start with easier exercises.

“For older adults, there are lower intensity exercises,” Sava says. “You work at a lower intensity, but increase the duration. Some exercises are walking, cycling, calisthenics or even dancing, doing the activity for at least 10 to 20 minutes.” ✦